Merc Tier 1 warranty

[Bobby Dazzler]

Just received the first call from Warranty Direct. Price drop immediately offered on SecureCare with £50 XS.

Have a guess how much.

Down from £1495 to £1245? Nowhere near.

Down from £1495 to £995? Warmer.

Down from £1495 to £745? Still need to try harder.

Down from £1495 to £650? Bingo. You've done this before.

Called back to say that I must contribute 30% of cost once I break 80,000 miles, but can elimate that for £50 extra on the premium.

57% like for like discount without me even asking!!

They still need to try harder though.

Went with Warranty Direct in the end.

Extra Care including immediate wear & tear (continues from existing warranty) - which is a level higher than listed above

Plus several of the options negotiated into the price:

Plus supercharger covered - not included, added as an exception apparently

Plus ICE/Sat-Nav (COMAND) covered

Plus emissions and airbag covered

Plus no parts betterment option, ie no contribution to parts costs due to mileage

Plus zero excess

MB dealer rates included

£700 annual premium including insurance premium tax, payable in four interest free instalments of £175

That's knocking on the door of Tier 1 prices, but feedback on this forum seems positive, it includes wear and tear, and coverage seems reasonable. I think the one thing that springs to mind as being not as good is diagnosis costs without a resulting repair is not included. I can live with that.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Been thinking that I should have received some kind of renewal notice but hadn't received one. Checked paperwork tonight and it expires tomorrow, so I called at 1845.

Waited 35 minutes despite being the first in the queue. Eventually put the phone down at 1920 and redialled. Recorded message said Customer Services had closed whilst I was on hold - at 1900!!

Redialled again and selected "new" option. I said I hadn't received an invitation to renew. Turns out they've automatically renewed it without telling me, and the price has gone up to £805, also without telling me.

Got to call in the morning to see what Customer Services have to say. Not impressed though.

 

[Alps]

Bobby, out of interest, did you actually make any claims?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Bobby, out of interest, did you actually make any claims?

None, so a safe bet for repeat business!!

I called on Saturday morning, and told them not to renew. When I spoke to them they said that it was actually £850!! When I asked if cover was the same, they said no, as it would now exclude air-con, suspension, and would be a lower level of course. I asked them to cancel it.

All the documentation arrived today, so it's possibly a deliberate tactic: renew, reduce and then issue.

I got a call today from someone following up the online quote I got on Friday night. He told me the best price he could do would be £775 as I wouldn't need an inspection, which is the same as the online quote as a new customer, and still wasn't good enough.

He put me through to his manager who said he could reduce the cost to £733 (ie £33 more than last year) and then said he could maintain identical cover to last year. Warmer, but I'm sitting it out.